An IDF officer was wounded by Hamas sniper fire Wednesday evening in a shooting attack aimed at Israeli forces operating along the security fence on the southern Gaza border.
The officer sustained moderate injuries, according to an initial statement by the IDF Spokesperson. He was airlifted to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva for treatment.
“Upon his arrival he was transferred to an operating room, where his condition was defined as moderate to severe,” said Prof. Gilbert Sabag, director of the surgical department at Soroka Medical Center. “The wounded man was taken to the trauma room with a bullet wound penetrating the abdomen and chest. He was transferred to an operating room,and his condition is currently defined as moderate.”
The officer was trying to tell a group of Gazan kids to move away from the fence when he was hit by the sniper fire, according to a report by Hebrew-language journalist Alon Ben-David.
הקצין הגיע לפזר התקהלות של ילדים שהתקרבה לגדר וצלף פגע בו. כך הוא צולם מהצד הפלסטיני לפני הפגיעה pic.twitter.com/i9PjbE7pgM
— Alon Ben-David (@alonbd)
Gaza’s ruling Hamas guerrilla organization has been training its teenagers in terrorist skills, and specifically how to become snipers, at its annual summer camp.
At least three terrorists were killed in retaliation gunfire by the IDF against Hamas by late Wednesday night.
